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With
its narrow streets and steep alleys, a stunning Gothic duomo, a bounty of early Renaissance art, and the glorious Palazzo Pubblico overlooking its
magnificent Piazza del Campo, Siena
is often described as Italy's best-preserved medieval city. Victory over Florence in 1260 at Montaperti marked the beginning of Siena's golden age.
During the following decades Siena
erected its greatest buildings (including the Duomo); established a model city
government presided over by the Council of Nine; and became a great art,
textile, and trade center. Siena
succumbed to Florentine rule in the mid-16th century, when a yearlong siege
virtually eliminated the native population. Ironically, it was precisely this
decline that, along with the steadfast pride of the Sienese, prevented further
development, to which we owe the city's marvelous medieval condition today.

Although much looks as it did in the early 14th
century, Siena
is no museum. Walk through the streets and you can see that the medieval contrade, 17
neighborhoods into which the city has been historically divided, are a vibrant
part of modern life. You may see symbols of the contrada—Tartuca
(turtle), Oca (goose), Istrice (porcupine), Torre (tower)—emblazoned on banners
and engraved on building walls. The Sienese still strongly identify themselves
by the contrada where they were born and raised; loyalty and rivalry run deep.
At no time is this more visible than during the centuries-old Palio, a
twice-yearly horse race held in the Piazza del Campo, but you need not visit
during the festival to come to know the rich culture and enchanting pleasures
of Siena; those
are evident at every step.

Siena is laid out like a "Y" along three ridges with deep
valleys in between, effectively dividing the city into thirds, called Terzi. The Terzi are each drawn out along
three main streets following the spines of those ridges. The southern arm, Terzo di San Martino, slopes gently down around Via Banchi di Sotto (and the various other
names it picks up along the way). To the west is Terzo
di Città (home
to the Duomo and Pinacoteca), centered on Via di Città. Terzo di Camollia runs north around Via Banchi di Sopra. These three main streets meet at the north edge of Piazza del Campo, Siena's gorgeous scallop-shaped central square.

Siena
welcomes her guests with the saying as it is written on the Porta Camollia:
"Cor Magi tibi Seni pandit"
(Siena opens
her heart to you even more through this door).

GETTING AROUND

Although it
often looks and feels like a small Tuscan hill town, Siena truly is a city, and its sites are
widely spread apart. Siena
is a pedestrian–friendly city: here you walk because the historical district is
closed to traffic. And don’t you think that you will get away easily because Siena is a small city:
the historical centre is large, and filled with sloping streets. The locals are
"trained hikers” from their first steps, but the tourists sometimes get "out of
breath.” An ideal holiday: so many things to see, while keeping fit.The city does
run minibuses, called pollicini (tel. 0577-204-246),
which dip into the city center from 6am to 9pm. The line B services the Terzo di San Martino and out the Porta Pispini
gate, as does bus no. 5 (there's also an N night bus on this route 9pm-1am). There are four
lines A buses, differentiated by
color. A pink goes around
Terzo di San Martino (and out the Porta Romana gate), as does bus no. 2; A green and A yellow cover Terzo di Città
(green from Porta Tufi to the Duomo, yellow from Porta San Marco to the Duomo);
and A red takes care of
the southerly part of Terzo di Camollia (from Piazza della Indipendenza out
Porta Fontebranda).You can call
for a radio taxi at
tel. 0577-49-222 (7am-9pm only); they also queue at the train
station and in town at Piazza Matteotti.